Graciela "Liz" Geyer

Published: Thursday, April 30, 1998

Thursday, April 30, 1998

EVP

I strongly believe that part of a university education is to create an environment where students can play an active role in questioning and changing society. The slogan "think globally act locally" is not only about the environment; it applies to all of us in our daily decisions and our conscious choices to stand by our professed values. In Praxis, we have focused on reflecting on the student movement in order to build upon our successes and expand our vision. On the Praxis team, the external vice president's (EVP) office plans to create an Environmental Justice Component - working on connecting UCLA's non-recycling policy to the living and working conditions of the people affected by it. The EVP office also plans on working with UCSA to continue to demand fee rollbacks, educational access and increased financial aid by demanding the end to prison expansion at the expense of higher education. These changes can only be a result of collective student action through grass roots organizing.

We are born into history, and are affected by it; but don't forget we create history and are directly responsible for the future of society by acting in the present. Students are a force to reckon with when moved to recognize their power in pushing society forward. Unfortunately, our youth has been made to believe they are powerless against institutional mandates; we are not. We must embody the change we have been conditioned to see as ideal illusion. We must choose to stand by justice and equality for all, and fight against oppression wherever we may see it. Don't let anyone fool you, we have that power.

Fraciela Geyer